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Ben Simmons’ insane dunk; James Harden takes down MJ

BEN Simmons has left fans with their jaws on the floor after taking a stab at dragging his side out of the jaws of defeat.

James McKernJames McKern
@jLmcKern
3 min read
November 10, 2017 - 6:02PM
James Harden joins MJ in the NBA record books.
James Harden joins MJ in the NBA record books.

BEN Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have been denied their sixth consecutive victory after being downed by the Sacramento Kings in an epic encounter on the road, 109-108.

After an impressive performance in the first of their five-game Western Conference road trip, Simmons was plagued by foul trouble throughout the contest and was unable to record yet another double-double, finishing with 18 points and six assists.

Joel Embiid rejoined the 76ers lineup after sitting out the last game and produced a big time performance with 22 points and 15 rebounds, however his shot to win the game wouldn’t go down and handed the Kings only their third win of the season.

Simmons stole the show late in the piece with a stunning dunk in the fourth quarter that brought about a social media meltdown.

Simmons failed to have a double-double for only the fourth time in 11 games, completing the match with 18 points and six assists.

HARDEN TAKES DOWN THE KING

As close to unstoppable.
As close to unstoppable.

James Harden has continued with his recent run of insane form by dropping a triple-double on the Cleveland Cavaliers as he helped the Houston Rockets claim their ninth win, 117-113.

Going head to head against LeBron James, Harden finished the game with an incredible statline of 35 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and five steals.

Making him only the second player in the last 30 years to record those numbers in a game, joining arguably the games greatest player in Michael Jordan.

The incredible numbers build on from last season where Harden finished runner-up in the MVP race to Russell Westbrook.

After marquee free agent signing Chris Paul went down early in the season with an injury, Harden has again taken the reigns of the Rockets with remarkable success.

Sitting atop the Western Conference standings with the Golden State Warriors with both teams holding a 9-3 record.

Despite the best efforts from James and an incredible return to form game from Jeff Green, the Cavaliers find themselves with a 5-7 record and sit in the lower half of the Eastern Conference.

The two forwards combined for 60 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and if not for the ultra impressive play of Harden, would have been enough to get them across the line.

BALL’S SHOOTING WOES CONDEMN LAKERS

Ball had no answers to slow down John Wall.
Ball had no answers to slow down John Wall.

John Wall finally got to show Lonzo Ball the “no mercy” he had promised to unleash in their earlier season encounter.

Prior to their game in the early stages of the 2017/18 season, Marcin Gortat stoked the fire by claiming Wall would torture Ball for 48 minutes.

Unfortunately for Wall and the Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers walked away with the chocolates that day in recording a 102-99 victory.

Today was a different story.

Wall wasn’t messing around and along with his back-court partner in crime Bradley Beal, they torched the Lakers to claim the 111-95 win. Handing the Washington Wizards their sixth win of the season.

Despite Ball ending with a tidy statline of 10 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists all of the talk surrounded his continued struggles shooting the ball.

After another game of subpar statistics, Ball’s season averages now don’t make for pretty reading.

His field goal average (29 per cent), three point average (22 per cent) and free throw percentage (50 per cent) rank him dead last amongst all current qualified rookies.

Having entered the league with more hype than any player since LeBron James in 2003, Ball’s struggles have been magnified under the bright Los Angeles lights.

The touch and flashes he has shown throughout his opening twelve games indicate that he should have a long and storied career in the NBA.

It is however his shooting that will continue to dominate the talks if he’s unable to drive those averages north and make his stroke more serviceable.

Notorious pot-stirrer Charles Barkley landed another shot on the chin of Ball prior to today’s action when he faked dodging the bricks Ball was heaving.

Rubbing a bit of salt in the wound, as picked up by Chris Walder, if the season were to end today Ball would have the worst percentage of any player, ever.

DAILY NBA SCORES

Houston Rockets defeated Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113

Toronto Raptors defeated New Orleans Pelicans 122-118

Washington Wizards defeated Los Angeles Lakers 111-95

Sacramento Kings defeated Philadelphia 76ers 109-108

Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Read related topics:Ben Simmons

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/basketball/nba/james-harden-has-achieved-a-rare-feat-not-done-since-mj/news-story/d41ee7fd99a606f54a377bb5955977ee